Saturday, September 14, 2013

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises, viewed at the Toronto International Film Festival, is most likely Miyazaki's last feature film. It departs from his previous work in many ways. It is a film of contemplation more than action. The fantasy elements that Miyazaki has used so effectively are present only in the main character's dreams. The dreams themselves have ties to the real world, as Jiro Hirokoshi converses with Caproni, an Italian aircraft designer that Jiro has only read about. Jiro's waking life is our world, with all its problems, and his dreams are related to his real world concerns.

The young Jiro meets Caproni in a dream

While flying is Jiro's ambition, he is too nearsighted to become a pilot. His compromise is to become an aeronautical engineer and design the planes that he is unable to fly. While he is interested in planes for their beauty, his work is financed by the Japanese military establishment that has other plans for the machines.

Just as Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is the Japanese
perspective on events depicted in his movie Flags of our Fathers, Hayao Miyazaki's The
Wind Rises is in some way a Japanese perspective on William Wyler's The
Best Years of Our Lives. In both films, ordinary people pursue their goals but are caught up in World War II.
Both films have a similar image near their conclusions: a graveyard of ruined
aircraft.

Two events early in the film are the story in miniature. The first is
the Tokyo earthquake and fire of 1923. While a disaster overall, it prompts heroic action and the rebirth of the city. Then there is
Caproni's dream plane, built after World War I, which crashes on its
test flight. The first disaster is beyond human control and the second is the result of human failure. In each case, there is
disappointment and tragedy, yet people persevere and continue to pursue their goals. In a dream, Caproni asks Jiro if he would
prefer a world with or without pyramids. The implication is that their
construction created both human suffering and beauty. Both Jiro and
Caproni prefer a world with pyramids, a statement that creation is worth
suffering for. As the earthquake shows, there will be suffering in
any case, creation or no.

The Wind Rises is both profoundly realistic, unafraid to recognize the
disasters and suffering (both natural and man-made) that people must
endure, and also profoundly optimistic, in that people continue to
follow dreams despite their troubles. It is a film made by an old man, one
who understands that there are no unequivocal happy endings. Tragedy and
disappointment are inevitable in each life. The pursuit of creating
something beautiful stands in opposition to that, the only thing that elevates people beyond mere survival.

It is not a film for children, not because there is anything objectionable in it but because I suspect it would bore most
children. The film is about adult concerns: the workplace, marriage,
politics and death.

I'm curious as to why Disney has decided to distribute this film and also
curious as to how they will market it. Given how hard they worked to
shield children from seeing Pecos Bill smoking, Disney can't be happy
that several characters in The Wind Rises are chain smokers. Advertising this as "from the director of Spirited Away" may be
literally true but will not represent this film accurately to the family audience.
I doubt it's going
to appeal much to weekend moviegoers at the mall as this is not what
general audiences have been trained to expect from animated
entertainment.

Miyazaki has broken new ground for himself here, stepping away from fantasy to offer a perspective on Japan's past and the value of creativity to human existence. This film will not please all his fans but he knew that this film would be his final statement. He chose to address his society about the things that he values and those he disdains. That the film has provoked some controversy in Japan is evidence of Miyazaki's decision to take risks.

I don't know if I'd consider the film a masterpiece. Is it as good as Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away or Ponyo? I'll need more viewings to solidify my thoughts. However, it is an important film, both as part of Miyazaki's body of work and as another advance for mature animated films.

Miyazaki's retirement, while inevitable, is a tragedy for animation as a whole. His exit will leave a gaping hole in the animation landscape. We've been blessed to have so many films from him and his compatriots at Studio Ghibli. The Wind Rises might not be Miyazaki's best film, but it might be his most important.

Disney is releasing THE WIND RISES under their Touchstone banner (not as a Disney film), and I know that they've hired an independent, outside-the-company, "art film" publicist to handle the press. They are distancing the picture from the company - but if it garners any awards (or Oscars) they will take the credit.

It seems that in the US, most animation directors assume that the way to make sure a film is seen as "adult" is by inserting material that is objectionable to kids. This film sounds like it actually is for "mature audiences only".Your summary of the movie's theme has me by the lapels already.Thanks!

About Me

I've worked as an animator, writer, producer and director in TV animation for 29 years. I created the cgi series Monster By Mistake.
I hold a Masters degree from York University in Cinema and Media Studies and am currently teaching animation at Sheridan College.
I can be contacted at mark(dot)mayerson(at)sheridancollege(dot)ca.